For some reason beyond my comprehension,
Remus (known more commonly by his last name, so that's how I'll call him from
now on) is one of the most popular characters in the series, up among the ranks of
Sirius and the Weasley twins. And I have to admit I am one of his fans
(not to the extent that some people are his fans, though), even though I don't understand the phenomenon myself. (Maybe
it has something to do with the chocolate?) So this page
is not completely unbiased.

We know J.K. Rowling
likes referring back to mythology in these books. (This
is a literary technique known as "allusion," so those of you
unfamiliar with this word will know what I'm talking about when I use it,
because I use it a lot) Lupin does not escape this,
he shares his first name with one of the mythical founders of Rome. They
were a pair of orphaned twin boys names Romulus and Remus, and were raised by
wolves. Clever, eh? Well, this isn't all good. You see, if she
carries on the allusion any further, there could be some trouble ahead for our
chocolate-giving friend. The twins went on to found the city of Rome, but
got into an argument over who the city would be named after. Being
unaccustomed to civilization (or perhaps foreshadowing it . . . hmm . . .), they
got into a genuine fight over it, and Romulus killed Remus. While this
means the city has a much more romantic-sounding name ("Yes, I spent two
weeks in Reme" doesn't sound quite as good), Lupin gets the short end of
the stick, being named after the one who dies. Maybe this is
foreshadowing. Or maybe J.K. Rowling simply preferred the name Remus over
Romulus and this will all amount to nothing.
Incidentally, the genial old slave who tells the
stories of Brer Rabbit is named Uncle Remus. No connection, I believe.

The name
"Lupin" isn't without meaning, either. In Latin, it's the root
of all words having to do with wolves. "Wolf" is lupus,
wolf-like is lupine, etc. It's also the name of a rather pretty
flowering plant which produces a cone-shaped stalk of flowers in early
summer. The flowers smell like black pepper, but that really has nothing
to do with anything. However it calls to mind a joke my sister came up
with. [That is a warning to run while you still can!] It's a parody of the
grasshopper joke – A grasshopper walks into a bar, and the bartender says hey,
we've got a drink named after you, and the grasshopper says really, why would
anyone name a drink Bob? Well, my sisters joke goes: So a tired guy walks into a
field. And another guy says "Hey, we've got a flower named after
you!"

I told you to run while
you still had the chance.

In my apostolic
allusion
theory (which is better explained on James's
page), Lupin fills the role of
Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector, and therefore greatly mistrusted and
generally despised by his community. Sound familiar?

In the
generational parallel theory, which holds that Harry and his friends are a
reflection of James and his friends, Lupin is represented in the present
generation by Hermione. They're both intelligent, and both misfits, as
Lupin is a werewolf and Hermione is Muggle-born.

If you're wondering where the Bonus Text from the British third Book went, it's
now on the miscellaneous page.

I don't have any Lupin song parodies,
like I do for Sirius. But I can say that I think Erik Satie's "Gnossienne
No. 1" has Lupin's personality.

Well, that's all for Lupin's page. I hope you enjoyed
it. If you want to see some more pictures of him,be
my guest. If you'd rather go back to the main Moony, Wormtail,
Padfoot and Prongs page, you can do
that, too. To see the other members of this little gang, click
on their names below.